


We'll Meet Again

by BluePlanetTrash



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Altean Shiro (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-23 16:11:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12511220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePlanetTrash/pseuds/BluePlanetTrash
Summary: The Paladin's of Voltron weren't sure what to expect when they found a picture of two Alteans that looked eerily like their resident leader and sharpshooter. Little did they know that showing them would lead to a whole other issue. Whether it's a good or bad thing? They'll leave it up to them to figure it out.





	1. Chapter 1

Although the Paladin's of Voltron were the Galaxy’s last hope of defeating Zarkon and setting everyone free; they were also children that at times were more curious then adults would have been. It was during one of these times that Hunk and Pidge found a room while exploring the castle, that contained holopads and computers filled with old pictures, research and writings of the Alteans. Intrigued, they picked one up and activated it to find a photograph of two Alteans that look curiously alike to the Blue and Black paladins of Voltron. Looking at each other they each grabbed a holopad of the albums and went to find the rest of their teammates. They found Lance in the living room lying back on the couch. Without a word they dragged him off onto the floor, with a shout of protest and towards the training deck, where they assumed Shiro and Keith would be wasting their free time away. Their assumptions were correct and they quickly gestured for them to gather around the two of them.

“What’s up Pidge?” Shiro asked as he strides towards the small group of paladins.

“Yah Pidge! Why’d you drag me off the couch!?” Lance exclaimed from beside the younger teen. 

“You weren’t doing anything important Lance,” Pidge huffed rolling her eyes.

“Uh yes, I was, I was chilling,” he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. 

“Anyways, Pidge and I were exploring the castle and we found these weird hologram iPad things with pictures of guys that look just like Shiro and Lance!” Hunk explained excitedly. 

“What?! No way, let me see!” Lance said perking up. Hunk opened the tome and they were greeted with an image of two Alteans, the shorter one looking like Lance with white hair and blue Altean markings and the larger one like Shiro with royal purple hair and lilac Altean markings. 

“Whoa,” they all let out, while Hunk and Pidge grinned at each other. The two were standing in a half embrace with “Shiro’s” arm around “Lance’s” waist. 

“Is that a crown?” Keith asked looking at the band going around the other Lance’s head.

“I don’t know, maybe there’s a description here or something,” Pidge replied tapping minutely on the screen. After a few moments, a line of Altean appeared blurring out the image.

At that moment Allura and Coran walked through the doors of the training deck discussing drills that could be used in their next session. 

“Ah, Paladins!” She exclaimed happily. “Are you getting some afternoon training done?” 

“Well, we were before Pidge came in with this picture,” Keith explained.

“Maybe you could translate it for us so we know what it is,” Hunk suggested. 

“I don’t see why not, give it here,” Coran replied happily twirling his moustache. They handed the pad to the man. He immediately paled and tried closing the hologram before Allura could see it. She let out a gasp and grappled it away from him.

“Where ever did you find this?” she asked. 

“One the rooms in the back of the Castle,” Hunk replied. “Who are they?” 

She sighed while looking at the picture, a frown marring her face. 

“Prince Alluran of Altea, my brother, and his personal guard and partner Sheeva,” she replied before she clenched her jaw tightly. “They were the first victims of Zarkon’s attack on the universe.”


	2. Chapter 2

Their eyes widened at the revelation and they immediately rushed to comfort the Princess. 

“I’m so sorry Allura,” Hunk said placing his hand on her arm, the paladins adding in their condolences as well. She smiled gently and took his hand it in her own.

“It is alright, it happened a very long time ago, although the pain is still very fresh,” she explained.

“There is no need to push away the pain of losing your family Princess,” Coran said coming up to Allura from behind and placing his hand on her shoulder. 

“I know Coran, but you can’t push away your pain either, I know how close you and Alluran were, and his loss hurt you just as much as it hurt me,” she replied turning towards the advisor. Coran only nodded faintly before turning his attention back to the paladins.

“How come you guys never told us about them, I mean we have basically carbon copies of them right here,” Pidge asked after a short lapse of silence. The two Altean glanced at each other, before looking toward Lance and Shiro.

“We felt that the two of you should be able to start your paths to paladins with clean slates, Alluran and Sheeva were gifted soldiers. As a matter of fact, they were in line to be the next paladins of the blue and black lion,” Coran explained pulling up the picture of the late Alteans again. “Sheeva was Zarkon’s apprentice, hand picked too from a large number of recruits. Originally he was just supposed to be Alluran’s bodyguard, but they soon discovered that he was able to be the black paladin, and was put next in line!” Coran exclaimed proudly. His smile soon fell into a sad frown though. 

“And Alluran, he was the crown prince, Allura’s younger brother. He possessed a brilliant mind and an even more brilliant eye, being the best marksman in the entire kingdom. He often aided Honerva in her experiments, he was easily drawn in by the blue lion however, and he too was discovered as a paladin,” Coran explained tears visible in his eyes when he described the late prince. He continued scrolling through the photos and stopped on one of Sheeva and Alluran in front of the Castle of Lions. Sheeva’s arms were wrapped around Alluran’s stomach from behind, with his chin pressed into the man’s shoulder. While Alluran pressed his cheek into Sheeva’s hair, mouth open wide in a laugh. 

“It was like watching destiny unfold itself, as soon as they saw each other, they knew,” Allura added, a fond smile on her face. “But, then Zarkon happened,” 

“What happened to them?” Keith asked. 

“He didn’t want there to be any doubt that he was the only black paladin. The night that Sheeva and Alluran became promised to one another, he murdered Sheeva in cold blood,” 


	3. Chapter 3

“He was struck down by the black bayard, the one that he was destined to wield, it was the ultimate betrayal,” Allura explained sullenly. “As you can imagine, Alluran was devastated, he was unable to do anything in his grief, and simply wasted away, it was cruelty beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” 

“They really were meant to be, he couldn’t live without him,” Coran added. The group looked dejectedly at the floor, unable to comprehend the evil of their enemy. 

“That's terrible,” They heard Lance say in a quiet voice. They turned to him and saw that there were tears rolling down his face.

“Lance! Are you alright?” Shiro asked from his side. He placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder to anchor him. Lance turned his wet face toward the man. 

“I think so, I’m not really sure why I’m crying though; when I heard how they died, I just felt so sad,” He answered before giving the leader a small smile. “I’ll be okay though, I’m sort of used to crying,”

“What?” Shiro asked after a moment’s hesitation, but it was overshadowed by Lance suddenly yelling.

“Shouldn’t we be training or something now!” He jumped away from Shiro and toward the two Alteans. “I mean I could always go back to chilling on the couch,” he added.

“We could all use some extra training after telling all of you more of what Zarkon is capable of,” Allura agreed nodding her head. Hunk and Pidge both groaned before shooting small glares towards Lance who only shrugged his shoulders and laughed. 

“Get to your lions paladins, we’ll be working on drills; this time with the Castle’s defenses,” Allura announced. “And don’t come back in without forming Voltron a few times, unlike last time,” 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Lance grinned shooting her a salute and running off towards the hanger. “Last one in their lion has to eat Coran’s food for the next three quintents!” He shouted just after passing the door frame. Immediately Hunk and Pidge took off after him.

“No fair you had a head start!” They heard Hunk’s voice wail from the hallway. Allura giggled glancing at Coran who had a disgruntled expression on his face.

“Hmph! My meals are exceptional and nutritious! Boy doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” He grumbled slinking out of the deck, arms crossed in front of his chest. Allura continued giggling as she followed him up to the control bridge. Shiro stayed in place looking after the place where Lance left, lost in his own thoughts. 

“Shiro? Are you coming?” Keith asked looking back from the entrance. Shiro shook his head and nodded before walking over to join Keith on the walk to the hangers.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked after a short bout of silence. 

“Yes, why?” Shiro replied raising an eyebrow toward him. Keith shrugged his shoulders and broke eye contact with the leader.

“Well, a lot of crazy stuff just happened, I mean we basically found out that you and Lance were in love at another time,” Keith stated. Shiro’s head whipped towards him again, a red tinge highlighting his face.

“NO, WE DIDN’T!” He yelled, Keith jerked back in surprise at the outburst of the normally calm paladin. 

“Oh come on Shiro, you have to admit that there are too many coincidences here,” Keith started. “Blue and black paladins, one an expert marksman, the other a highly trained combat specialist, not to mention you have the same goddamn faces,”

“We do not,” 

“Shiro.”

“…they have marks,”

Keith only looked at him blankly before turning off into the next hall, instead of continuing in the main one with Shiro. 

“Hurry up guys, we’re burning daylight here!” Lance’s voice came through the coms in their helmets. 

“Lance, we’re in space, there is no daylight here,” Pidge piped up.

“Whatever Pidgeon,”

Shiro let a wide grin slip across his face as he fell into a run towards Black’s hanger. Soon enough he was going up the ramp and sitting himself down in the pilot’s seat. However, as soon as he gripped the controls, he felt a jolt travel through his body and he was not where he was supposed to be. The cockpit of his lion faded away, making him fall several metres to the ground. He landed with an ‘omph' and slowly sat up rubbing his head to try and make the pain fade. He noticed not too far away from him were a set of heavy black boots, he glanced up and his eyes widened.

“What?” He breathed out. “Aren’t you… Sheeva?”


	4. Chapter 4

“That is indeed my name Paladin,” 

“What are you doing here? Where even is here?” Shiro asked hesitantly. “Isn’t this where I fought Zarkon?” 

“Again you are correct,” The Altean replied. “I assume you have other questions. Go ahead,”

“Uh, okay. What is happening right now?” Shiro asked looking the Altean over. He was wearing the same uniform as the pictures depicted him in.

“I’ve come to tell you about your past,” Sheeva replied. That made Shiro’s head snap up to look at the doppelgänger. 

“What do you mean my past, isn’t it your life?” His eyebrow furrowed in confusion.

“More or less, have you heard of reincarnation?” Shiro nodded his head, still confused. “That is our predicament, we are more or less two halves of a whole, although you had to be told of this otherwise I wouldn’t have been awakened,” 

“Okay, I think I’m following but what happens from now on?” Shiro asked. 

“Well, I believe that we will be sharing a body from now on, neither of us will have full control and will likely swap from one to the other randomly until we are able to become one,” Sheeva explained placing a finger to his chin thoughtfully. 

“What?!” Shiro blanched. Sheeva looked at him curiously. 

“What? Whats wrong?” He asked.

“Whats wrong!? Everything about this is wrong! I can’t share my body with you!” He yelled at the still confused man.

“Whatever do you mean? It's not like we have a choice anyway, we are stuck with each other,” he growled getting into Shiro’s space. 

“Can’t you just go away or something? I can’t deal with this right now,” Shiro cried exasperated. 

“No I can’t, I don’t understand why you are making such a fuss about it, Alluran and Lance are probably getting along splendidly right now, and you won’t even consider the possibility,” Sheeva huffed turning away from Shiro. 

“Look, fine. Can I go now? We have training that I was just about to go to,” Shiro grumbled pinching his nose in his fingers. Sheeva sighed.

“Fine, but we are talking about this at a later date.” 

“Great.. can’t wait,” Shiro replied.

* * *

 

Shiro jolted awake on the seat of his lion nervously looking at the time and noticing that only a minute had gone by on the clock. He quickly ejected into space and drifted closer to the other lions, ready to start training.


	5. Chapter 5

“Alright team, let's get started,” Shiro said joining the group on the outside of the ship. He smiled when he heard the cheers of agreements coming from his teammate’s comms. They turned towards the Castle waiting for a command from their leader.

 “We’re ready Princess,” he stated confidently. “Get ready,” he said to the rest of the team. He heard Allura’s affirmation come through the comms and watched the Castle’s force field appear around the ship. 

“Start evasive maneuvers!” He shouted a moment before a laser shot towards them. They quickly split up and dodged around the blue lasers, spreading across the expanse of space. They used the rocks floating around them to block the attacks, twisted around the shots at perfect moments, and fired back when they had the chance. After a moderate amount of time; they came together and flew in formation.

 “Let form Voltron!” Shiro yelled. He could fell his mind starting to meld with the other paladins, and could feel their excitement as their lions came together. They twisted around the shots and quickly got closer to the Castle.

 “Form sword!” he commanded. They lashed out against the barrier and successfully sliced through the shield. They let out a cheer and leaped away from the Castle, preparing for their next assault.

 “Good work team!” Shiro praised. “Now lets fo-” he started before he was cut off by a pounding in his head. He let go of the controls to rip his helmet off his head and clutch it between his hands. The black lion shook as Voltron was torn apart, and he let out a loud groan. 

 “Shiro? Whats happening? Are you okay?” He heard Keith’s panicked voice ask him. The paladins worried faces popped up in his vision. 

 “I- I don’t know,” he managed to choke out. “My head,” He felt Black jolt as Yellow clutched them in their paws and began dragging them back towards the ship.

 “Its okay Shiro, we got you,” Lance said calmly. He tried to reply to the teen but felt his eyes stubbornly shutting, turning his vision dark. Yellow gently set Black down and landed beside them, quickly letting their paladin out to run to the other lion.

 “Did anyone see what happened?” Keith asked running to join Hunk at the mouth of the black lion. Only negative responses greeted him around the group, and he looked up worriedly at the leader’s ship. 

 “Why isn’t he coming out?” Hunk asked with furrowed brows. 

 “Maybe he passed out or something,” Pidge suggested. She shrugged when she got narrowed looks from everyone. “I’m just saying,” 

 “We’re just going to have to wait, Blacks not going to let us in,” Lance said crossing his arms. The others mirrored his pose and waited with bated breath for the return of their teammate. Their sighs of relief weren’t able to be heard over the sound of the black lion’s maw opening in front of them. The paladin came forward in relief to greet their friend, but he quickly rushed past them to sweep Lance into his arms.

 “Alluran!” He cried in relief and peppered kisses over the shocked boy’s cheeks. 

 “Um, Shiro, are you alright?” Pidge asked in confusion. Shiro turned to them a wide smile on his face. 

 “I apologize Paladins, I’m not Shirogane, my name is Sheeva,” he said politely. They were intrigued to hear that; although his voice was the same, he now had an accent similar to Allura’s.

 “Uh, excuse me dude, could you let me down?” Lance asked from Sheeva’s arms. He turned his attention back to the teen and gave him a small grin.

 “Yes, sorry, you just remind me so much of my love,” he said unabashed. A blush flooded Lance’s cheeks and looked down to the floor. Sheeva chuckled and resisted the urge to pull the blue paladin into his arms. Their attention shifted to the hanger doors when they slid open revealing both Allura and Coran. 

“What happened? You were doing so well,” Allura commented once they came close enough. Sheeva whirled around eyes widened and sank down to one knee in front of the two.

 “Princess Allura, Master Coran,” he greeted keeping his eyes focused on the floor. The two Alteans gasped as they recognized the voice coming from the paladin.

 “Sheeva?” Allura asked hesitantly. 

 “Yes, my Princess,” he replied.

“What happened to Shiro?” She asked confusion clear on her face. 

“We have begun combining your highness,” he replied.

“Sheeva, you know that you can call me Allura,” she said with a smile, that faded when he shook his adamantly.

“No my princess, I’ve failed you, you shouldn’t show me any kindness,” he said stoically. “Because of my failure, I was unable to protect Altea and I was unable to save Alluran,” he stated glancing briefly at Lance. 

“It wasn’t your fault that Zarkon lost his mind,” Allura stated gently lifting his chin to look at her. “As for Alluran, you made his years the best that he ever had, do not doubt the love the two of you shared. You know as well as I do that if he was here right now, he would beat you for saying those words,” he sniffed and nodded his head not able to stop the few tears that escaped his eyes. He stood and let himself be wrapped in a hug by his fellow Alteans. They pulled away and Coran clapped him on the back.

“Now then, how about some dinner?” He asked. 

“Would you be willing to make a paladin lunch?” Sheeva asked sheepishly wringing his fingers together. Coran’s eyes lit up as groans could be heard around the hanger. 

“Of course my boy! You’re the only one around here with good taste!” he exclaimed leading Sheeva out of the hanger and toward the kitchen. They sat down around the table while Coran danced away to prepare food for Sheeva.

“You said that you began combining, what does that mean?” Keith asked after a moment of silence. 

“When Alteans are reincarnated, we don’t completely take over a person’s consciousness. We sort of implant the memories of our past and let the other learn from it and form bonds with their significant other from their past life,” he explained. “We let them use our feelings, ideas, and memories to create a new sense of self, but in order to do this, they must take long rests to be able to take in the amount of information they are. That is why we switch consciousnesses, so Shiro can learn,” 

“That is so COOL!” Pidge shouted sitting up and slamming her palms onto the table. 

“Cool?” He asked quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

“Good and interesting,” Hunk said absentmindedly used to the Alteans not knowing their slang. 

“Oh, thank you,” he said to Pidge bowing his head with a smile. She glanced at the rest of the paladins smugly. 

“Hah, Shiro bowed to me,” she grinned. 

“Hey, no fair, that's not even Shiro. He’s a knight, he’s all gentlemanly and stuff like that,” Hunk pouted at the green paladin. 

“Thank you Hunk,” Sheeva said before bowing to Hunk as well, sending a smirk at Pidge.

“Ha!” Hunk cheered throwing his hands in the air. Sheeva laughed and beamed at the two of them. 

“Here you go Sheeva, piping hot!” Coran cried twirling into the room and setting the bowl of green and yellow…someting in front of Sheeva. He licked his lips and quickly started eating from it. He looked up at the paladin’s faces of disgust and only chuckled.

“How can you eat that?” Lance asked. He cringed when Sheeva sucked a yellow morsel into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

“It's delicious, and healthy,” he stated between bites. “How can you not eat it?” A small gag came out of Lance’s mouth when a waft of aroma came out of his bowl. Sheeva snorted and covered his mouth before a piece of food could fall out of his mouth. 

“How long is going to be until Shiro switches back?” Keith asked. 

“I’m not sure, as I sad we will be switching out randomly, neither of us will be able to control it and it will stop when we become one,” he replied.

“Wow, okay, well I’m going to turn in now I’ve had enough excitement for today and I am beat,” Hunk announced pushing his chair back and leaving the kitchen. He was quickly followed by Keith, Pidge, and Lance leaving the three Alteans to themselves.

“Sheeva, how do you feel about this?” Allura asked suddenly. He looked at her, but diverted his attention to the table top.

“I am glad that I am getting a second chance at life, one that I won’t waste. I am happy that I will have the two of you to help me along my way,” he admitted.

“But…” Coran prompted. Sheeva’s head sunk further down.

“But, I don’t know how long I will be able to ignore the similarities between Alluran and Lance, and if he is not his reincarnation I fear that I may break,” he whispered. He cleared his throat and scooted back to stand up. He picked up his finished dish and headed to the kitchen. 

“Thank you very much for the food Coran, I really appreciated it,” he said escaping into the kitchen. He put his dish into the washer and leaned against the counter trying to clear his head. After a short while he left and headed towards the quarters; as he was about to enter Shiro’s he heard a slight cough behind him. He turned and found Lance shifting from foot to foot in front of him. 

“Lance,” he greeted with a small smile. 

“Hey Sheeva,” he responded with a matching grin. “Um, I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for everything that you’ve gone through. I know it’s not a lot but I know how it feels to think that something is your fault, and I’ve lost people too,” he blurted out, wringing his hands nervously. Sheeva was struck back by the similarities between his lost prince and the blue paladin and couldn’t help but cup his cheek.

“Thank you, Lance,” he said gratefully, softly rubbing his cheek with his thumb. Lance looked star struck into Sheeva’s eyes and blushed. Sheeva’s eyes widened and he quickly brought his hand away and back to his side.

“I am so sorry Lance, I don’t know what came over me,” he stuttered trying to will the blush away from his face.

“No no no, its fine, its fine Sheeva, really,” he said quickly trying to reassure the man. “Anyway, if you ever need to talk about anything, you can come to me, okay?” Sheeva nodded and watched the Cuban boy walk into his room and away from his sight. He slunk into his room and face planted onto the bed, quietly shoving his face into the pillow hoping to smother himself in embarrassment. 

* * *

 

Lance put his head in his hands and muffled his screaming into them, as the blush across his face bloomed over his entire face. He quickly got ready for bed and jumped under the covers, after the events of the day he was able to quickly fall into a deep sleep. Usually, at this time he would fall into a dream about home or Blue and float around until morning. This time, however, he found himself snapping his eyes open to see his look-alike standing in front of him.

“Hello, Lance,”


	6. Chapter 6

“Oh, um, hello,” he said hesitantly with a small wave. The look-a-like gave a tinkling laugh.

“You don’t have to look so nervous,” he smiled. Lance only shrugged in response and looked away from the alien.

“You’re Alluran, aren’t you?” He asked looking around the strange space around them.

“That’s me!” He cheered gripping Lance by the shoulders and pulling him close. “And do you know what that means?!” He asked excitedly. Lance pulled back slightly from the elated prince.

“We start fusing?” He asked cautiously.

“We start fusing!” He yelled after Lance; then paused with a confused look on his face. “Wait, how do you know about that?” he asked. Lance shrugged his shoulders and looked away from the man.

“Well, Allura, Coran, and Sheeva told us about it,” he replied. His eyes widened when Alluran gripped his shoulders again tightly.

“Sheeva is alive?” He asked with a pain filled expression. Lance looked at him in surprise.

“You didn’t know that?” Lance asked carefully. “I mean he’s not technically alive I guess, he’s in Shiro’s body,” Lance explained. Alluran nodded his head after a moment.

“So he’s merging already,” Alluran mused with a small smile. “Well, then you already understand the process of what will begin happening between the two of us?” He asked Lance with a smile growing on his lips. Lance only nodded silently and let himself be lifted up by the prince in a tight hug.

“Whoa, you’re really strong,” Lance gasped out as his middle got crushed in the Altean’s arms.

“All Alteans naturally are,” he commented setting the boy back down on his feet. “Anyways, I believe that when we wake up I will be the one in control, all the cases of encountered up to this point have shown this pattern,” he explained clutching Lance’s hands in his own.

“Great!” Lance chirped giving the man a smile. “You’ll be able to see Allura and Coran first thing at breakfast!” His enthusiastic smile dropped when he saw the look of hesitance on Alluran’s face.

“What wrong? Are you excited to see your family again?” He asked holding Alluran’s hand tighter as a sign of comfort.

“It’s not that Lance, I just don’t know how I will be able to face them, considering how I left them,” he responded meekly looking down at their intertwined hands. “I didn’t have to die the way I did but I wasn’t strong enough to go on without him,”

Lance swallowed around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. To think that this strong Altean prince had been thinking that he disappointed his family when in reality they had only been praising him and his strong relationship with Sheeva. He shook his hands-free and slammed them onto Alluran’s shoulders, making him look into Lance’s eyes.

“Don’t think like that, since they told us about you all we’ve heard was how great you two are and how strong you have ever been,” Lance said earnestly. “Don’t doubt Allura and Coran, they would never hold your death against you,” Alluran let himself curl into himself a bit and breathed harshly trying not to start crying against Lance. After a few minutes, he straightened up.

“Thank you, Lance, I really needed to hear that,”

“No problem; from how I see it, we’re family now,”

* * *

“Are you sure that Sheeva will want that?” Pidge asked incredulously looking at the strange dish that Coran was preparing in front of them.

“Of course, this was one of Sheeva’s favourite meals!” Coran said excitedly. “Isn’t that right Princess?”  

“Indeed it was,” Allura giggled watching Coran happily humming to an old Altean song as he continued mixing ingredients.

“I don’t know man, that’s kind of gnarly looking,” Hunk grimaced. Keith nodded in agreement, going so far as to poke the mass that was sitting in the bowl. He let out a choked sound of disgust when it seemed to wiggle in response.

“I’d really like for us to have a black paladin left after breakfast please,” Keith grimaced. Coran huffed and turned his back to the team to continue his work.

“Where is Sheeva anyway?” Pidge asked from where her head was propped up on her arms.

“We’ve decided that until Shiro and Sheeva are fully merged than it is best that we stay under the radar, for our own safety,” Allura explained sitting down at the table with the three other paladins.

“Makes sense, Sheeva couldn’t really pilot Black when he first switched over,” Hunk commented walking over with a plate of food goo and joining them. They let conversation was over the group and jumped slightly in surprise when the doors slid open.

“Lance! Good morning!” Hunk cheered with a smile. It dropped slightly when he didn’t respond and started heading towards Allura. She looked at him in confusion and froze when he suddenly collapsed and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

“Um, Lance? Are you alright?” She asked wide-eyed. Without disturbing the hold around her neck, she started jostling him slightly and lightly poking him in the sides. She paused when his face tilted up and she saw that he was crying.

“Allura, I’m so so sorry,” he whispered. Her eyes widened when she heard the familiar accent reach her ears. Her head slightly shook as if denying what she was hearing but quickly crushed him against her chest. She let out a quiet little sob as she carded her fingers in his hair.

“Alluran, is that really you?” She whimpered against his head. He nodded shallowly against her shoulder and sniffled in an attempt to reign in his emotions. He turned his head slightly to look at the rest of the kitchen and almost immediately meet eyes with Coran.

“Coran!” He cried a fresh wave of tears covering his cheeks. That was all it took before the older Altean was hopping across the counter and joining the royal siblings. He wrapped his arms around both of them and lifted them in the air in joy. Although the tears on their faces were fresh, they were unable to keep the laughter from bubbling out of their mouths. He let them drop to the ground after a few minutes and he was immediately bombarded with questions from both of them.

“When did this happen?”

“Did you meet Lance?”

“Is this the first time you two have switched?”

“I can’t really answer if you talk so much!” Alluran laughed. “I talked to Lance for the first time last night, and yes it is the first time that we switched,”

“I can’t believe you’re back Alluran, I’m so happy,” Allura stated clutching her hands in front of herself.

“Yes, about that…” Alluran trailed off suddenly feeling anxious. Allura and Coran looked at him worry plainly across their faces. He looked up at them, trying hard not to bring his eyes back to the floor instead.

“What is it, my boy?” Coran asked stepping forward to put his hand on his shoulder. Alluran broke down into sobs in front of the two surprising the both of them. They approached him in confusion and worry and his head shot up to them with such remorse that they paused in their step.

“I am so sorry, to the both of you,” he cried. “I wanted to stay strong and help defeat Zarkon, but I felt so hopeless after he took Sheeva from me and I couldn’t do anything,” he put his head into his hands and choked out sobs between short breaths.

“I wanted so much to avenge him but he hurt so much to even move. I’m sorry you had to see me go the way that I did, and I don’t expect you to forgive me but I really hope that you will eventually,” he stuttered out trying to make himself look at his sister and uncle without sobbing more than he already was. It only took Allura and Coran mere seconds before they were joining Alluran on their knees and hugging him to themselves again.

“Alluran, don’t ever believe that we would think any less of you,” Allura said clutching fiercely to the blue robe that her brother was wearing. “You lost the love of your life in a horrible way, and betrayed by an important person in both of your lives,”

“We will never hold the way you died over your head if anything it shows how fiercely loyal you are you the ones you care about,” Coran added holding the boys head close to his shoulder. Alluran let himself sink into his family members with a soft smile and let his eyes drop closed in happiness. They let themselves sit there in silence, not even the paladin disturbing them as they comforted their lost family. They were only interrupted by the sound of the door once again sliding open.

“Sheeva!” Alluran cried stumbling to get up off the ground. He ran and jumped onto the surprised man, clutching tightly to his firm chest. “Sheeva, I’ve missed you so much, you can’t even imagine how hard it was to be without you for so long,” Alluran said breathlessly into his chest where he was pressing his face.

“Uh, I’m sorry, I’m not Sheeva right now,” Shiro said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, come on,” Keith’s exasperated voice sounded throughout the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 7

“Oh,” Alluran said unlatching from where he was on Shiro’s chest and took a few steps backward. Instead of the frown, he expected from the Altean, he was instead graced with a blinding smile.

“My name is Prince Alluran of Altea,” he introduced himself with a small nod. Shiro repeated the gesture with a confused stare. He repeated the greeting to all of the paladins then turned back to Allura.

“So what are we doing today?” He asked her with his hands on his hips. She thought for a moment then looked at him with a grin.

“How about a hand to hand combat exercise?” She asked. Alluran’s mouth dropped open, then widened in a smile. He turned to looks at the others over his shoulder.

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” he grinned.

“Well, what are we waiting for then?” She asked turning around and moving to exit the room.

“Yah!” He cheered and rushed forward to put himself under his big sister’s arm. She laughed and flexed it, trapping his head in the crook of her elbow. The others glanced at each other before they followed behind the Altean siblings. As they walked through the halls, Alluran and Allura kept bumping playfully into each other and at one point Alluran was bumped directly into the wall.

“Alright paladins, who wants to go first?” She asked turned to them with her hands on her hips. No one stepped forward, instead, looking around and anything but her face.

“Very well,” she huffed. “Pidge.”

“Aw man,” she groaned stepping forward.

“And…Keith,” she finally decided. He smirked at Pidge as she groaned again before looking over at him.

“Can’t handle this Pidge?” He asked playfully as they got into their positions at either side of the deck.

“Let’s just get this over with, Billy Ray Cyrus,” she grinned running forward with a yell. He yelped offended before he ran forward as well.

“So why did you want to do hand to hand?” Alluran asked his sister, looping his arm through hers. She scoffed and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really?” She asked.

“Well, no but I kind of want to hear you say it,” he admitted cuddling closer to her and resting his head on her shoulder. She sighed in annoyance but ruffled his hair.

“I wanted everyone to see how skilled you are at combat,” she looked away from him and watched Keith and Pidge’s sparring match again.

“So great to hear that my sister thinks so highly of me!” He boasted with a grin.

“Don’t let it get to your head, the paladins need someone to learn from and since Lance is probably the least skilled in combat because of his role as the sniper, this will most certainly wake them up,” she said with a devious smirk. Alluran shuddered and unlatched himself from her arm and backed away slowly. With a thump on the mat, he looked over and saw Pidge face down on the floor. He went to walk off of the mat but was stopped by Allura.

“Keith now you’ll be fighting Hunk,” she said holding her hand up.

“What? But I won,” he complained gesturing to where Pidge was still laying down.

“…It’s a contest,” she suddenly decided on. He groaned but returned to his position.

“Sucks to suck bitch,” Pidge laughed, crawling to the sideline with a smirk in Keith direction.

“I should have ended you when I had the chance,” he scowled. She crawled over and sat beside Alluran’s legs.

“Whats up Prince Charming?” She asked looking up at him. Surprisingly, he dropped to the floor beside her with a smile.

“There’s quite a variety of fighting style on this team,” he commented watching Keith and Hunk fight.

“Well, we never really had proper training so we kind of developed our own fighting when we got out here,” Pidge explained. Alluran hummed watching the exchanging blows that happened between the two of them.

“Interesting, Keith fights like a Galra soldier,” he squinted at the way he nimbly avoids Hunk’s strong strikes.

“Oh, that’s because Keith is half Galra,” she said. She froze when she remembered the way that Allura first reacted to the news of Keith’s genes. She hesitantly looked over at him trying to gauge his reaction. At the sudden silence from Pidge, he met her eyes and tilted his head in confusion.

“What?” He asked.

“Sorry, it’s just that Allura freaked out when she found out that Keith was half galra,”

“What?!” He repeated this time shocked. He looked over at her with a wide mouth. “Allura, you racist bitch!”

“I’m over it now,” she deadpanned, knowing exactly what he was talking about when she saw Pidge sitting beside him. Pidge shrugged helplessly and Allura sighed looking away.

“OW! Okay, I give!” Hunk’s voice echoed loudly through the room. They looked over and Hunk was on his stomach with Keith’s knee digging into the small of his back and had his arms bent behind his back. Keith immediately jumped up at the pained yell and nervously fluttered around him as he rolled onto his back to rest his arms at his side.

“Hunk, are you okay? I’m sorry,” he asked as Hunk got back to his feet with a groan.

“Hey! How come I didn’t get an apology?” Pidge asked offended from the sidelines.

“I don’t apologize to gremlins,” he said emotionless looking straight into her eyes.

“How dare you,”

“Alright knock it off, I’m up right?” Shiro asked walking forward. He looked back at Allura for confirmation, she nodded and he got in a defensive position while Hunk walked off.

“Wooo! Go, Shiro!” Alluran suddenly yelled. The man blushed and looked over at the prince sitting between Pidge and now Hunk.

“Ooh Shiro, you’ve got a fan,” Keith commented with a playful smirk, sinking once more in preparation to fight.

“Shut up,” he mumbled racing forward.

“We didn’t really get to ask, but are you okay Alluran?” Hunk asked. Alluran blinked at the concern that was in the paladin’s voice and turned to see him with tears in his eyes.

“I mean, we heard about the way you died and it just sounded truly terrible and I worry constantly about my friends, I mean I think of you as a friend already, I mean-” Hunk started flustered trying to get his point across. Alluran let out a tinkling laugh and put his hand on Hunk’s shoulder to get him to stop.

“Thank you but I am completely fine,” he reassured him. He looked over at the fight and watched Shiro for a minute before turning back to Hunk.

“I also know that everything is going to turn out fine, for Sheeva and I but also for Shiro and Lance,” he admitted with a small smile. “I may have experienced a complete heartbreak but I am extremely grateful for the second chance I have been given because of it,”

He looked longingly at the man that shared his beloved’s face. He sighed a smile on his face and rested his chin on his hands.

“Are you excited to talk to him again?” Hunk asked quietly, drawing Alluran’s attention again.

“Of course I am, it has been over ten thousand years after all,” he said excited shaking Hunk’s arm happily, “but, I want Shiro to be comfortable too, so I’ll be able to wait for him, as long as it takes,”

“Come on,” a voice grumbled. Keith was face down on the mat, strikingly similar to how Pidge was not too long ago. This time though, Shiro’s foot was pressing down on his back and she was grinning down at him.

“Ha!” Pidge laughed pointed at him. He wiggled trying to get up from under Shiro but gave up after a few moments of useless struggling. Shiro finally stepped off his back and turned to face Allura.

“Well, what’s next princess?” He asked.

“Not so fast Shiro, you still have one more person to go through,” she smirked. He shivered and backed slightly away from her, she looked dangerous and smug for some reason.

“You?” He asked hesitantly. She snorted but shook her head and gestured her head toward the three resting paladins. Alluran stood up and took Keith’s place while he sat down between Hunk and Pidge and leaned on Hunk’s arm.

“Ready?” Alluran asked with a small smile. Shiro nodded and before he knew it, a punch was coming straight for his face. He dodged and he felt the fist graze his cheek.

“Whoa!” He cried stumbling back slightly before he regained his balance. He blocked the next blow and when he thought he saw an opening, he threw a punch. Before it could connect, Alluran grabbed his wrist and jumped up, winded his legs around the arm and twisted his ankles around Shiro’s neck. They fell to the ground and Shiro desperately tried to pull his arm out of Alluran’s arm but as he tried to pull it to his chest, the ankles around his neck tightened and he began choking. After a few moments of struggling, he tapped on the legs around his arm and he was released. He turned on his hands and knees and gasped in deep breathes as sweat dripped onto the mat.

“I didn’t know you could fight like that,” Shiro gasped looking up at the Altean. He shrugged and smiled at him before offering him his hand, which was gratefully accepted.

“Don’t feel too bad Shiro, Alluran was one of the strongest hand to hand combatants of his time, when you first fought the gladiator that was also the first gladiator he ever fought as well, he’s always been extremely talented,” she explained, pride radiating off of her.

“Allura stop! I’m blushing,” he gushed holding his face in his hands.

“Wow, thats amazing!” Shiro said looking down at the boy beside him, but Alluran was looking blankly ahead with clouded over eyes.

“Alluran?” Shiro asked quietly and touched his shoulder. He gasped and grabbed him when he fell forward. He pulled him to his chest and the others ran over with concern.

“What happened?” Allura asked.

“I don’t know, we just fell over,” Shiro shook his head and felt his forehead for any sort of fever. He brought it away when blue eyes blinked open only a second later. There was a loud sound of relief from everyone as they looked down at him.

“Alluran?” Allura asked cupping his cheeks in her hands.

“Oh…no,” Lance said instead. Her eyes widened in surprise but they still held concern and she didn’t take her hands away from his face.

“Lance, are you okay?” She said instead.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m just tired and dizzy I guess, Alluran did say that this could happen,” he looked around him until his eyes finally landed on Shiro. “Oh, Shiro, thanks for catching me,” he said with a gentle smile. Immediately a blush lit up on Shiro’s face, getting a laugh from Lance at the sight of it.

“My pleasure,” Shiro said ignoring the obvious flush on his face.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Lance giggled.

“Please stop,” Keith groaned. They blinked and Lance scrambled to his feet and stood beside Allura instead.

“You’re ruining their love Keith,” Hunk cried shaking the red paladin by his shoulders.

“Maybe it’s just Alluran and Sheeva in their heads?” Pidge suggested.

“Actually couples that have been reincarnated, often end up together before they fully merge with their past selves,” Allura stated happily. Lance and Shiro glanced at each other and quickly away when their eyes met. A blush flushed across Lance’s face to match Shiro’s.

“That is so cute,” Hunk declared with sparkly eyes. He looked over at the two of them and hugged both of them to his chest. “This is going to be the best few weeks of my life, or you know until you guys merge,”

“You’re going to enjoy seeing your leader and your best friend, as different people, fawn over each other?” Shiro asked in disbelief.

“Not even Keith can shield himself from the cuteness of people falling in love,” Hunk gestured to the boy. Keith nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

“I ship it,” he added.


	8. Chapter 8

They still had a long way to go before they were fully merged with each other, but it was clear to the others that at least Shiro and Lance were getting a bit closer in their relationship then they had before.

If they would just fucking stay in the same room together.

Keith didn’t know how much longer he could watch them bump into each other in the halls of in the kitchen and awkwardly stutter and blush their way away from each other. He honestly wanted to bang his head on the counter. Or maybe their heads into the counter. Maybe they would jump up to defend each other. Yes. Next time, Shiro’s head was meeting granite.

Fortunately, the plan to slam Shiro into a counter was interrupted by an emergency transmission by a nearby planet. Although they tried their hardest to stay out of harm’s way, they couldn’t exactly ignore a planet’s plea for help and immediately flew out. It wasn’t long until they were on the ground aiding in evacuation and ground fighting.

Allura and Coran kept their eye on the action from the Castle, carefully sending out instructions to the paladins. As they canvassed the area, they saw Lance and Shiro facing off against a group of Galra soldiers, as the group pushed closer, it forced Lance and Shiro closer together until their backs were pressed against each other. They glanced over their shoulders at each other before smirking and lashing out against the soldiers.

They moved perfectly in sync as if they had been fighting together their whole lives. As Allura and Coran watched in awe, they spun around each other, punches and kicks flying over each other’s back as they ducked. With a grin, Shiro picked Lance up and spun him around the circle of enemies, Lance kicking them away.

They let out laughs of joy as they easily beat the soldiers back forcing them to retreat. They chased them away from the city until they were escaping to their ships. As they disappeared from the atmosphere, they turned to each other wide smiles on their faces. There was only a slight hesitation from Shiro before he scooped Lance up into a hug, his hand going behind Lance’s head to press it into his shoulder. With a small laugh, Lance wrapped his arms around Shiro’s back and squeezed comfortably.

“Good God finally,” Keith’s voice huffed over the coms. With a blush, they jumped apart and started stuttering out apologies and explanations to each other.

“Aw Keith, you just ruined it,” Hunk complained.

“At least it’s a step forward,” Pidge added.

“Can you please stop?” Lance whined with a blush as the two of them started heading back towards the Castle.

There was a moment of complete silence.

“cAn YoU pLeAsE StOp?,” she mocked. Shiro let out a snort and covered his mouth. Lance let out a gasp and gave him a blinding smile.

“We’ve got another spicy memelord on board,”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!” Shiro argued with a wave of his arms. Lance turned to him with a pout.

“Why don’t you want to enjoy the spice with me?”

Shiro looked at him with dead eyes before spinning around, “I’m leaving,”

Lance choked out a laugh and ran after him, jumping up and latching onto Shiro’s back.

“Do they even fucking realize?” Keith droned. At his sides, both Pidge and Hunk shook their heads with a small sigh.

“Of course not,”

* * *

He laid gasping against the cold floor of the hangers, hands pressed against the wound in his stomach.

“Zarkon why?” His voice came out weak, his voice hitching slightly. There was no trace of the kind-hearted Galra he knew, his eyes were overtaken by a purple glow.

“I am the only true paladin of the Black Lion,” he growled, before turning and stalking out of the hanger, the black bayard clutched in his hand. Sheeva watched him with wide eyes, not completely understanding what was happening. He tried to crawl forward, attempt to get any sort of help but he collapsed with a painful whine.

“Alluran,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes closed. He curled into a fetal position and attempted to stop the blood flow but nothing was working. He choked as the panic finally took hold and tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Alluran!” He sobbed. All he wanted was to see his fiancé, to hold him close until the pain was over. He paused at the thought. They were never going to get married. They were never going to truly belong to each other. A new sense of urgency dug into him and he attempted to drag himself over to the doors again, if he got out, there would be patrols along the hallway and maybe he would be saved.

He didn’t want to die alone. He didn’t want to be found cold and gone in the hangers days from now. Would they even know it was Zarkon? Would he get justice for his death?

He collapsed only a few yards later, arms trembling with exhaustion. He beat his hand into the floor at his weakness. With a glance up, he could see the door still miles away from him.

In all his life, he never imagined that he would go out like this. He trusted Zarkon with his life, with everyone he loved. He trusted him to take care of Alluran if anything ever happened to him, now he just hoped that he would leave him alone. That thought was quickly dashed though, he knew how powerful Alluran’s emotions were. He worried what would happen to him without him here.

“My love, take your time,” he whispered, as his eyes slowly glazed over.

* * *

Shiro’s eyes snapped open with a gasp. For a minute he just stared up at the ceiling and let the tears slide down his cheeks and wet the inside of his ears. He had never felt such crushing sadness before. He knew that what he just saw wasn’t just a dream, but his own memories.

He pushed himself up to sit and crawled out of bed with a rustle of the sheets. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep any more that night, not with the heavy cloud that was looming over him at least. He didn’t bother to change out of his pyjamas and just slipped on his lion slippers before leaving his room to wander the halls.

* * *

The first thing he was aware of was the crushing loneliness that was overtaking his body. There was nothing left for him on the face of this planet anymore. His love was dead and the only merit at the moment was that he would be joining him soon.

He blearily looked up at the figures surrounding him, being for him to take a bite of food, or a sip of water, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He knew in his heart that what he was doing was selfish, that he should be helping his people fight back against Zarkon since it was clear that he wasn’t just going to stop after murdering his apprentice. He should be trying to stay strong like Allura always was able to but he just couldn’t.

He knew that Allura would never hold it against him and for that he was thankful. It made the devastation that he was feeling just a bit lighter sometimes.

It was times like that, that he thought of Sheeva and would be drawn back into his mind. He thought of all the times that they wouldn’t get, the memories that they would never get to make with each other. Not in this lifetime anyway.

His fingers weakly squeezed against Allura’s hand, he could feel himself slipping. It was time.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” the words quietly left as his eyes slipped shut.

* * *

He woke without a word. Tears were rolling down his face and his heart ached with the memory of loneliness and hopelessness. He curled up on his side, letting himself fall back into the despair for a moment before slipping out of bed and out into the halls.

They were making progress over the past couple of weeks, he knew that the rest of the paladins were getting sick of them but they didn’t know how hard it was to constantly relive the memories of a past life. They didn’t know how hard it was to fall in love again after losing that person before. He was so scared that if he fell in love with Shiro with or without their past selves that he was going to lose him again.

He already knew how much it hurt the first time it happened. If he was killed again, he didn’t know how he was going to react.

He sniffled and wiped his arm across his face. He wanted more than anything to have what Alluran and Sheeva did, but it was hard after seeing what happened to them. But he couldn’t deny the rush of emotions that overtook him when Shiro was near. He felt so safe and happy when they talked or he even just smiled at him.

It was both a shock and relief when he walked into the lounge and saw the top of Shiro’s head peeking over the top of the couch.

“Shiro?” He called, his head turning to look back at Lance.

“Oh Lance, hey,” he responded, head turning to keep his eyes on Lance as he walked closer and sat beside him on the couch.

“Why are you up?” Lance asked. Shiro sheepishly looked down with a blush on his face.

“Nightmares,” he admitted. Lance swallowed and nodded his head in sympathy.

“Me too,”

“Was it about…you know, Alluran?” Shiro asked hesitantly. At the reminder of the memories, Lance bit his lip and nodded his head even as tears welled up in his eyes.

“What about you?” He echoed. Shiro sniffled and nodded his head as well.

“Maybe we should talk about this?” Lance suggested. Shiro didn’t look up but silently nodded his head again.

“Shiro, despite what everyone else thinks I haven’t realized; I am in love with you and I know that you’re in love with me,” he started, not flinching when Shiro reached out and weaved their fingers together.

“Is it that obvious?” Shiro asked with a slight smirk. Lance huffed out a laugh and tightened his hold on his hand.

“I guess you’re just a bit easier to read when I’ve already fallen in love with you before,” Lance teased.

“Sounds about right,” Shiro agreed with a smile but it fell at the frown on Lance’s face. “What’s wrong?” He asked with concern, reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind Lance’s ear.

“I’m just so scared,” he whispered, leaning against Shiro’s side. “I already lost you once and it completely broke me and now we’re in a war, what if I lose you again?”

Shiro frowned and wrapped his arm around Lance, holding him securely.

“I will do everything in my power to never leave you again, just say that you won’t leave me alone either,” Shiro pleaded, turning to push his face into Lance’s hair.

“I won’t” Lance promised, tilting his head up to rest it in the crook of Shiro’s neck.

They sat in each other’s company, silently shedding tears until they fell asleep, clutched in each other’s arms.

* * *

“WAKE UP BITCHES!” The two of them awoke with a shock, scrambling away from each other, breathing hard and eyes darting around wildly. They both glanced over to see Pidge with a shit eating grin on her face and the rest of the team looking on casually.

“Really Pidge?” Sheeva groaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

“Wait, Sheeva?” Alluran asked, turning to look at the Altean. Sheeva’s mouth dropped open and he lunged back over to finally embrace his love.

“Alluran!” He cried with excitement, hefting the prince up with a laugh and spinning the two of them around. Alluran giggled maniacally, clutching Sheeva’s neck for support.

“I’ve missed you so much darling,” Allura said quietly when his feet met the ground again.

“As have I,” Sheeva agreed, resting his forehead against Alluran’s. Without a word, Alluran pushed himself up on his toes and kissed Sheeva.

“Fucking finally,” Keith muttered with a grin.


	9. Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is based on this Hamilton song. This is an AU of We’ll Meet Again, where they were able to defeat Zarkon when he attacked Altea but Sheeva still didn’t survive.

**Let me tell you what I wish I’d known. When I was young and dreamed of glory.** **You have no control. Who lives. Who dies. Who tells your story?**

His father always told him that when he thought he was about to do something impulsive; something that could have dire consequences. He never thought about what it could mean for him.

When he first heard what Sheeva was going to do, he begged him not to go back into the fight. He had already had his fair share of suffering; he lost his arm for star’s sake!

“Alluran, I have to this!” He pleaded with him to understand. Alluran shook his head, just barely suppressing the sob that wanted to tumble out.

“You’ll be killed Sheeva! Look around! We’re lucky to be alive right now and you want to throw that luck straight out the window!” He cried, gesturing to the large bay window in his bedroom. Just over the horizon, they could see smoking rising. Zarkon was closing in on the capital and it wasn’t long before he knew the soldiers would be sent out. The Lions had already been sent away in case the battle didn’t stay on Altea.

“How can I just sit here and wait!?” He demanded angrily pacing around the room. Alluran watched him, his heart aching. He glared down at the ground, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I know I can’t stop you,” he said quietly. Sheeva stopped pacing and looked over at the Crown Prince. “I just wish I didn’t have to,”

Sheeva gulped. “I’m sorry,”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,”

“Alluran,” he tried, trailing forward slightly. Alluran shook his head and turned away from him.

“As soon as you walk out of that door, you forfeit all rights to my heart,”

Sheeva let out a short gasp of surprise. He clenched his fists tight in indecision but ultimately headed for the door. Alluran’s legs shook with the want to fall to the floor and sob but he held strong.

Sheeva stopped at the door and looked back at Allurance.

“I’ll see you on the other side of the war, my love,”

**Every other paladin’s story gets told. Every other paladin gets to grow old.**

Sheeva died in the battle for Altea. He died distracting Zarkon long enough for Alfor to get the final blow in.

His father died in the battle as well. Alfor knew that Zarkon wouldn’t stop until he was dead and he was right. With his last dying breath; Zarkon stabbed him straight through the heart. Then there was nothing.

There were no screams.

No fanfare.

Only silence for miles.

The soldiers took away their killed and wounded. They delivered the news to their families as soon as possible.

Lance didn’t find out about Sheeva’s death until months later. There was no indication where he was buried, whether he was in a mass grave, where his belongings were, or if he had any final wishes. It was as if they had simply forgotten him.

It was true that Shiro wasn’t as well liked as some of the other soldiers. He was opinionated, he had questions about every decision that was made by his higher-ups. People thought that he was taking advantage of being a future paladin and thought that he was better than regular soldiers.

It wasn’t true. It was never true. If they truly knew Sheeva, they would know and they would be ashamed to even think that.

Every other paladin received the highest honours, their war stories shared across the galaxy but not Sheeva. Why? Why didn’t they give him the credit he deserved? Even if Sheeva had a say in the processing, he wouldn’t have pressed for his name to be remembered. He just wanted to make a difference and he was shunned for it; by both the military and the civilians.

**But when you’re gone, who remembers your name? Who keeps your flame? Who tells your story? Who tells your story?**

**Alluran**

**I put myself back in the narrative.**

He couldn’t let Altea forget Sheeva. There was so much that they just didn’t understand, that they didn’t ever consider.

They never looked past their own egos. They didn’t see that he was helping them. That he wanted to make their lives better but because he wanted to change things he wasn’t worth listening to.

**I stop wasting time on tears. I live another fifty years. It’s not enough.**

There was a time and a place for grief. That time had passed. He gave his fair share of tears, he spent his fair share of nights awake, aching for his love. He let himself fall apart and cry himself to sleep each night. But he knew that he was the only one that would fight for Sheeva’s memory, he was the only one that wouldn’t forget about him so easily.

**I interview every soldier who fought by your side. I tell their story.**

He talked to whoever he could. Anyone that had any contact with Sheeva, he wanted to know. He found Sheeva’s closest friends, they mourned alongside him. They told him all the good things Sheeva wanted to accomplish after the war was won.

They shared stories of the war, told everyone that would listen about the sacrifices that were made.

**I try to make sense of your thousands of pages of writings. You really do write like you’re running out of time.**

Sheeva always wrote down everything, his arguments to commands, what he thought should change, who he thought should change. No matter what it was, he wrote it down.

His arguments made people question his loyalty, his notes made people think twice. He had everything from current events that he believed needed to change for the better, for future projects that would have revolutionized the planet.

**I rely on Allura. While she’s alive, we tell your story. She is buried in the Castle gardens near you. When I needed her most, she was right on time.**

He would never be able to thank Allura enough. She was patient and understanding. It nearly broke him when he lost her as well. A virus they said and she fought for so long but it wasn’t enough.

He had her buried in the Castle’s gardens, where he had Sheeva’s memorial placed.

She helped him whenever he needed, she never turned him away.

**And I’m still not through I ask myself, “What would you do if you had more time?”**

Whenever he thought about his progress, he thought of Sheeva and what he would have been fighting for if only he were alive. It always felt like more to Alluran, like he couldn’t do nearly as much as Sheeva would accomplish. It never mattered though, as long as he was continuing his fight, he was doing more than most after the war.

If only he had been given more time, just a little bit more and he would have changed the world. Maybe even the universe if he was given the opportunity. There wasn’t anything Sheeva couldn’t do if he put his mind to it and he believed in his own abilities.

It was always Alluran’s favourite thing about him; he never hesitated as long as he was confident in his ideas.

**The Lord, in his kindness. He gives me what you always wanted. He gives me more time.**

He’s lasted far longer than any of his friends, he lost his sister, his mother wasn’t going to be here much longer. He wasn’t going to waste the gift he was given though; he still had so much more to do.

He would fight in Sheeva’s place. Help him accomplish what he wasn’t able to in his lifetime. He would be the soldier this time.

**I raise funds in the Capital for Father’s monument. I tell his story.**

Sheeva always admired King Alfor. He wanted to learn everything about him, wanted to always be by his side. There wasn’t a soldier in the Altean army that was more loyal. If he had known that Alfor perished in the battle, he would never let anyone forget his sacrifice.

The council wanted to forget about the war completely; write off the entire thing like it was a tragic accident so they wouldn’t have such a stain on their history. Instead, Lance fought for a monument to commemorate the soldiers that fought valiantly for their planet. To give them the credit they were due.

He gained the favour of the public and the planning started.

It’s not enough.

**I speak out against slavery. You could have done so much more if you only had time.**

When Alluran first heard the word hoktril, it ran a shiver straight up his spine. The council was presented with the invention and right away were intrigued. But Alluran fought, he argued and defended the rights of his people until his very last breath.

Yes, the council had more power over the royal family but Alluran never gave up. He fought to unite the people, show the cruelty that was involved, showed them their Altean roots.

He won that fight.

The council was replaced.

But it’s not enough.

**And when my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell our story?**

He thought about his progress too much. He thought about if was doing enough, if they would finally put Sheeva in the history books alongside his parents and sister. Or even if he was going to be remembered after his death.

Why wasn’t he able to do enough? When does he earn his legacy? When does he earn Sheeva’s legacy?

Will it ever be enough?

**Oh. Can I show you what I’m proudest of? I established the first private orphanage in Altea.**

Everyone was affected after the war; there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t lost something dear to them. He wanted to do what he could for anybody but the ones he tried to help the most were the children.

Before the war, there weren’t many children that didn’t have parents, or at least some sort of family left. He saw them begging on the streets, just hoping that one day they’d be picked up and taken care of. He couldn’t just leave them alone, they deserved a life.

He planned the entire construction himself, got the public involved, spread awareness of the problem, had volunteers flooding the centre. He stood outside the building, hands on his hips, it was his crowning achievement.

It’s not enough.

**I help to raise hundreds of children. I get to see them growing up. In their eyes I see you, Sheeva. I see you every time.**

Getting to be a part of their lives made up for the ache in his heart.

Seeing their perspective change because of a small thing he did for them was worth more than anything. Many of them came to his home beaten down, but he saw the hope come back over time.

He found Kei wandering the streets one day, dirty, thin as a stick and glaring at anything that moved towards him. He couldn’t plan him; the public became unkind especially to a child with a Galran parent. Even though he was also half Altean, they didn’t show him any kindness. He approached carefully, drawing his cloak hood down to reveal his face. As he thought he was instantly recognized and the child fell to his knees, shaking, apologies spewing out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry-if I had known p-please don’t h-hurt me,” tears rolled down his cheeks and he kept his eyes firmly on the ground. Alluran frowned and gently pulled his face up to look at him.

“Do you need help little one?” He asked simply. Kei only looked at him in shock before he burst into sobs and nodded his head frantically. Alluran gave him a soft smile and gently picked him up. He weighed practically nothing in his arms

He made a life for himself, he found friends; Pera and Hun. They both lost their parents in the war as well and they became a united front. He would never tell the others but they were secretly his favourites.

And when Kei finally looked up at him like he had found peace in the world that had wronged him, he thought.

‘Have I finally done enough?’

**And when my time is up. Have I done enough? Will they tell my story?**

He laid on his deathbed. Dozens of the orphans he helped raised surrounded him, some were approaching the middle of their lives; others were just barely children. He made a difference in their lives.

But was it enough?

Would they tell his story to others? Would they tell their families about what he had done?

Will they remember?

It wasn’t nearly as scary as it thought it would be to die. Kei was there, so was Pera, and Hun. More than anything, he didn’t want to leave them alone. They had families now, yes, but it didn’t erase the love he had for them for the last fifty years.

Kei reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it closer so he could nuzzle it. Tears fell on Alluran’s hand; he wanted so desperately to wipe his tears away, tell him that it was going to be okay but he knew his time was up.

“It’s okay Pa, you can let go,” Kei whispered with a quivering smile.

**Oh, I can’t wait to see you again. It’s only a matter of time.**

He remembered the first time he even saw Sheeva. They were both young; he was in basic training and Alluran was doing etiquette lessons in the gardens. He was minding his own business about to take a sip of tea, back straight, fingers on the handle and eyes directed to his cup. But then a regiment jogged past and his eyes snapped to them.

Immediately he met equally wide, cool silver eyes and he was lost. His teacup ended up in his lap and Sheeva tripped over his own feet and slammed into the ground.

Alluran shrieked and hopped away from his chair and danced around the garden trying to cool the hot tea all over his clothes and skin. His governess hadn’t been pleased but there was only so much you could do when your charge was hopping all over the yard.

At least he found him.

Tears slid down his cheeks as he stared up at the ceiling. Kei let out a concerned whine and leaned over him.

“It’s okay Kei,” he whispered reassuringly. “I’m just thinking of him,” Kei nodded in understanding. His breathing started getting shallow and his eyes started to slip shut. His life flashed before his eyes, Sheeva smiling at him from across the courtyard, coming back after a long mission, or sneaking into their bedroom with a bouquet of flowers.

He couldn’t wait to see him again, eventually, he would.

With his last breath, he whispered “We’ll meet again darling,”

**Will they tell your story? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? Will they tell your story? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?**

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at my Tumblr too!: https://blueplanettrash.tumblr.com/


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